One well known example of a portable work surface is a clipboard. As the name suggests, a clipboard includes a clip allowing a user to secure papers or the like thereto. The rigidity of the clipboard allows the user to readily write on the secured papers, and its portability allows it to be carried about and used in locations where there is no readily available desk or other support surface.
Frequent users of clipboards include watchstanders in power plants or other industrial facilities, coaches, doctors, etc. Notably, such users are ordinarily making only brief annotations on their clipboards, which limited use is partially driven by limitations of the clipboard, itself. Most particularly, unless a desk or some other surface is nearby, the user must support the clipboard with one hand while writing with the other. This can quickly become uncomfortable.
The same limitations apply to more modern work surfaces, such as tablet computers. While such devices offer superior functionality relative to a clipboard in many respects, a user away from a desk or other support must hold the device in one hand while working with the other.
In some instances, users have attached a strap to the top of clipboard. While a strap will certainly prevent the user from having to put the clipboard down between uses, it is still necessary for the user to hold the clipboard while actively using it.